Latest Releases
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Provision Reconnecting Community to Area Around Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock to Be Signed into Law
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) announced her provision, written along with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN05) to expand community access to land around the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock, passed the Senate as part of the Water Resources Development Act and is expected to be signed into law. The provision directs the Army Corps of Engineers to minimize the space they use around the lock and dam as much as possible, while maintaining access for safety and maintenance purposes, to make room for the development of a public recreation space. Redevelopment for a recreational space is being led by Owámniyomni Okhódayapi, a Dakota-led non-profit. “Minnesotans value our lakes and rivers, and this provision recognizes that,” said Senator Smith. “This policy change is a key step to reopening the area around the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam for the community to enjoy while ensuring the lock and dam infrastructure continues protecting Minneapolis’ water supply and protecting Lake Superior from invasive carp.” ###
In Big Win for Minnesotans in Lake, St. Louis and Cook Counties, U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Bill to Support Counties Passes Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) released the following statement after her bill to provide critical federal funding for hosting federal wilderness lands passed the Senate: “Thye-Blatnik payments have been a vital source of revenue for Cook, St. Louis and Lake Counties in northeastern Minnesota since 1948. But in 2018, a suspect and likely wrong reappraisal led to massive potential cuts in county revenue, which would have devastating impacts for communities in Northern Minnesota,” said Sen. Smith. “Today, after years of work with the Trump and Biden Administrations to reappraise and correctly uphold the value of this one-of-a-kind wilderness, I am pleased that my bill to permanently fix this issue has passed the United States Senate. My bill provides financial certainty and security to these counties and a permanent fix to the problem. I look forward to seeing this bipartisan and urgently needed legislation quickly move through the House of Representatives and go to the President’s desk so it can be signed into law.” The Counties benefit from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) as a world-renowned tourist destination, but they also forgo property taxes and other potential revenue streams. Congress passed the Thye-Blatnik Act over 70 years ago, which directed the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire lands within the future BWCAW and set up a system of annual compensation payments to the host counties. These funds go towards essential services like roadway infrastructure and public safety, and help the counties accurately plan their budgets. When the most recent appraisal in 2018 suggested that there
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith Announce Extended Postpartum Health Coverage for Minnesotans
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) announced that Minnesota has received approval to extend postpartum coverage for 12 months to individuals enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The extended coverage is made possible by the American Rescue Plan, which Senators Klobuchar and Smith helped pass last year. “We must address our nation’s unacceptably high maternal mortality rates. Having long fought to improve care for new mothers and babies, this issue is personal to me, and it’s personal to moms across our state,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “I pushed for this funding to
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Legislation to Protect Access to Medication Abortions
WASHINGTON, D.C. [6/23/22]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced a bill to defend access to medication abortion in states where the right to an abortion is still protected. The bill would protect current FDA guidelines so that women can always access medication abortion through telehealth and certified pharmacies, including mail-order pharmacies. Of the one in four American women who will have an abortion, over half will use medication abortion. In the 20 years since its approval, the evidence has shown that medication abortion can be prescribed to patients without an in-person appointment, is safe and effective for people to take
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Joins Colleagues in Push to Fight Food Insecurity as Benefits Cliff Approaches
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined 32 of her Senate colleagues in a push to extend child nutrition waivers ahead of their expiration and enact a robust set of child nutrition priorities. With school summer break already underway in many states, it is vital that Congress extends and expands these programs as low-income families are facing a steep benefits cliff when the waivers expire on June 30, 2022. In their letter to Congressional leaders, the Senators call for extended child nutrition waivers, the creation of a nationwide Summer EBT program, and expanded community eligibility (CEP), a flexible meal
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Senate Passage of Bipartisan Bill to Ensure Minnesotans Aren’t Forced to Pay Ex-Spouses’ Student Debt
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that legislation she co-led to provide relief to individuals with consolidated loan debt with a spouse – including victims of domestic violence and financial abuse – has taken a major step towards becoming law. The billwould allow individuals to sever joint consolidation loans with a former spouse, which will provide long overdue financial freedom for vulnerable individuals who are being unfairly held responsible for the debt of a former partner. While Congress eliminated the program to allow spouses to consolidate their loans in 2006, it did not provide a mechanism for severing
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